Morning After
by redwolfoz
Summary: Choose your Author ficathon. Dawn wakes up the morning after a big night a wishes she was dead.


**Choose your Author Ficathon:** AU after _The Gift_ (Buffy stayed dead), legal (agewise) Dawn, drugs/alcohol, the _morning after_.

**Note:** Written for Settiai.

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**Morning After**

by Red Wolf

Dawn slowly regained consciousness, rubbing the grit out of her eyes. As she yawned she made the unpleasant discovery that a small rodent had crawled into her mouth and died overnight. Well, it certainly felt and tasted that way, it had left fur all over her tongue and possibly droppings.

She rolled over to reach for the glass of water by the bed, unfortunately her brain had a delayed reaction in moving with her and felt oddly gelatinous. Dawn was pretty sure that wasn't normal or she would have, if the pain hadn't kicked in. Slumping back on the pillow, the inside of her skull helpfully sloshing about and adding exciting new stabbing sensations, she groaned in pain.

Spike reached over Dawn and picked up the water, gently lifting Dawn's head and putting the glass to her lips. "Better, love?"

"I'm dying." Tiny demons had crawled into her ears during night and were currently trying to gnaw their way out through the back of her eyeballs. She was positive there was mention of teeny, tiny eyeball devouring demons in her research, if only her brain would co-operate, but it just wanted to undulate happily like the ocean. "Oh god, I'm going to throw up."

"Not yet you're not." Spike scooped Dawn out of bed and had her in the bathroom before she could protest.

Dawn emptied her stomach into the toilet. The neon coloured cocktails of the night before reduced to a horrible brown liquid with lumps of maraschino cherries and peanuts. The sight didn't do much to settle her queasiness.

Sitting on the edge of the bath, Spike held her hair back and offered her a damp washcloth as she finished.

"Thanks." She wiped her mouth, sat back on her heels and looked up at a concerned Spike. "Why are you naked?"

"Same reason you are, love." His grin was suggestive of exactly why they were naked.

"Oh." Reason still wasn't with Dawn and logic was running a long way behind. "Was there sex?"

The quirk of an eyebrow was the only indication of Spike's sense of mischief warring with his common sense. He gently brushed her hair behind her ear. "Much as I'd love to say yes, you were way too pissed to do anything other than sleep."

"And the lack of clothes?"

Spike helped Dawn to her feet and led her back to the bedroom, pointing out the final landing places of various bits of clothing. "You felt the night was way too hot. There was dancing involved too. And singing."

Dawn's cheeks pinked at the evidence of her earlier behaviour, but didn't pull away from the arm that was wrapped around her shoulders. "And your clothes?"

Trying to be the gentleman, Spike had gotten Dawn into bed and headed for the couch when she'd dragged him into bed with her. He had to admit he didn't struggle all that much. "It was too hot, remember?"

She had fuzzy memories of her hands peeling Spike's shirt and jeans away, of the need to feel his skin against her own. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Spike dropped a kiss on the top of her head. It had been a rather pleasant way to spend the night, with a beautiful girl curled against his back. He walked her back to the bed and handed her the water and a couple of painkillers. "This'll help the headache."

Dawn dutifully swallowed the tablets and got back into bed. As Spike stood she caught his hand. "Where are you going?"

"The couch."

"Please stay." Spike's heart melted at her words. "Hold me for now, until the marching band leaves my head. I'd like you to be with me when I wake up."

As Spike crawled under the covers beside Dawn, she curled against him and settled her head onto his chest. He placed his hand over her smaller one that sat over his heart. It may not beat any more, but it still ached with the love he felt for the very much under the weather woman in his arms. He squeezed her hand as she started to snore softly. He was a very lucky man.


End file.
